Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO3 Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin

Liu, Xuan; Chao, Jie; Guo, Feifei; Chang, Liangliang; Zhang, Xinyang; Long, Wei; Xi, Zengzhe

doi:10.3390/nano15110792

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Open AccessArticle

Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO₃ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin

by

Xuan Liu

^1,2

,

Jie Chao

²,

Feifei Guo

¹

,

Liangliang Chang

²,

Xinyang Zhang

²,

Wei Long

¹ and

Zengzhe Xi

^1,*

¹

Shaanxi key Laboratory of Photoelectric Functional Materials and Devices, School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, China

²

Shaanxi Engineering Research Center for Mineral Resources Clean & Efficient Conversion and New Materials, Research Centre of Grapheme Technology and Application, Shangluo University, Shangluo 726000, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nanomaterials 2025, 15(11), 792; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15110792

Submission received: 19 April 2025 / Revised: 22 May 2025 / Accepted: 23 May 2025 / Published: 24 May 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Energy and Catalysis)

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Abstract

Addressing the limitations of poor piezoelectric photocatalytic activity and insufficient magnetic recovery in pure BiFeO₃ nanoparticles, Gd and Zr co-doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles were synthesized via the sol-gel method. The structural characterization revealed a rhombohedral-to-orthorhombic phase transition with reduced grain size (~35 nm) and lattice distortion due to dopant incorporation. An XPS analysis confirmed Fe³⁺dominance and oxygen vacancy enrichment, while optimized BGFZ9 exhibited enhanced remanent magnetization (0.1753 emu/g, 14.14 increase) compared to undoped BFO. The synergistic piezo-photocatalytic system achieved 81.08% Ofloxacin degradation within 120 min (rate constant: 0.0136 min⁻¹, 1.26 higher than BFO) through stress-induced piezoelectric fields that promoted electron transfer for ·O₂⁻/·OH radical generation via O₂ reduction. The Ofloxacin degradation efficiency decreased to 24.36% after four cycles, with structural integrity confirmed by XRD phase stability. This work demonstrates a triple-optimization mechanism (crystal phase engineering, defect modulation, and magnetic enhancement) for designing magnetically recoverable multiferroic catalysts in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

Keywords: BiFeO₃ nanoparticles; piezo-photocatalytic; magnetic properties; catalytic mechanism; Ofloxacin

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, X.; Chao, J.; Guo, F.; Chang, L.; Zhang, X.; Long, W.; Xi, Z. Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO₃ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin. Nanomaterials 2025, 15, 792. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15110792

AMA Style

Liu X, Chao J, Guo F, Chang L, Zhang X, Long W, Xi Z. Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO₃ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin. Nanomaterials. 2025; 15(11):792. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15110792

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Xuan, Jie Chao, Feifei Guo, Liangliang Chang, Xinyang Zhang, Wei Long, and Zengzhe Xi. 2025. "Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO₃ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin" Nanomaterials 15, no. 11: 792. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15110792

APA Style

Liu, X., Chao, J., Guo, F., Chang, L., Zhang, X., Long, W., & Xi, Z. (2025). Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO₃ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin. Nanomaterials, 15(11), 792. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15110792

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Gd and Zr Co-Doped BiFeO₃ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin

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